Makeup Geek // Manny MUA Palette

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

cruelty free makeup

I recently picked up the Manny MUA Palette from Makeup Geek and I had to share it with you guys because I am SO impressed. It is my first experience with the Makeup Geek line, which is a cruelty-free online company started by Marlena, who has an awesome Youtube channel you can find here

I heard about MG through the vegan/cruelty free makeup community and loved the look of her products, especially the eye shadows. I really like that you can buy individual pans and make your own palettes. For my first purchase though, I decided on the Manny MUA palette because it had some amazing looking shadows that I really wanted to try out. 



Makeup Geek

First off, the packaging is on point. It comes in a beautiful box, and then the actual products are in a high quality palette with a gorgeous foil designed front. The palette is $45.00 for 9 generously-sized shadows (bargain!) that range from light to dark and come with a mixture of matte and shimmer. 

Makeup Geek cosmetics

Makeup Geek

One thing I love about this palette is that it can be used to create so many different looks. The lighter and medium shades can be used for natural every-day looks, the darker shades are awesome for a smoky eye, and the bold colors can be used creatively for playing around with unique looks. 

As for the shadow quality - I am very pleased. They are buttery and very easy to work with and blend. There was a bit of fall out from Insomnia - the {amazing} bottom left shade, but nothing that couldn't be cleaned up with a bit of concealer.


Manny MUA palette

I wanted to include some quick swatches of all the shades, since whenever I read a cosmetic product review - that is one thing I always look for! I quickly swatched each row on my fingers and you can immediately see how awesome the color payoff is. 


Artemis / Beaches and Cream / Luna


Cruelty free makeup

Cosmopolitan / Sora / Frappe


Cruelty Free makeup

Insomnia / Mars / Aphrodite 


Cruelty free makeup

I hope to be able to share a post on some of the looks I create using this palette soon! And I can't wait to try out more of Makeup Geek's products and shadows now. 

Have you ever purchased from this brand? What products do you love? xx 

Leeds Farm

Monday, October 24, 2016


Every year, our family takes a trip to Leeds Farm. It is a local family farm in Ostrander, Ohio that is open to the public in the fall and they have tons of fun things to do - hayrides, pumpkin picking, zip lining, and so much more!

This Saturday, we were celebrating Aubrey's 10th birthday with a day filled of her favorite things. She always loves our trips to Leeds Farm, so we added it to our list for the day and headed there after lunch. It was pretty cold, but the sun came out and it turned out to be the perfect fall day. 










While the kids were zip lining, Aaron and I had hot apple cider and pumpkin donuts - so delicious and helped keep us warm when the sun hid behind the clouds! 











One of my favorite parts of the farm is always the animals. You all know I am a sucker for any and all animals ;) There were baby cows, donkeys, a mama pig with her brand new babies, and tons of goats. Side note - I love goats. It's a dream of mine to have enough land one day to have some pygmy goats (among other animals). If you aren't familiar, please take a second to google them - I'm obsessed.

Anyway, at Leeds Farm, you are allowed to feed the goats, which is hilarious. I just love how funny their personalities are. The second they realize you have food, you are their best friend...which makes for some good photo ops! 











It's our tradition to always end the day with photos at the pumpkin arch. 
Do you have any fall family traditions or like going to the pumpkin patch this time of year?











friday favorites

Friday, October 21, 2016

via
 This chilly fall weather has me wanting to curl up in a chunky sweater with a cup of tea and just read a book or watch Netflix all day :)

We have lots of fun plans this weekend to celebrate Aubrey's 10th birthday. Saturday is going to be a full day of her favorite things, including our family's traditional trip to Leed's Farm for hot cider and pumpkin picking!

Here are some of my favorite things from this past week...




one //
I stumbled upon a lovely new blog that I am now obsessed with. I actually found her through Instagram, but immediately following on all outlets. Check out Fashionably Lo... blogger Lauren Price is gorgeous, stylish, and wonderfully positive! 



two //
I found myself in great need of new work clothes this week. Do you ever get to that point with your wardrobe? I just feel like I have been wearing the same few outfits for ages and want to toss them all and start from scratch for the cool months ;)

I ended up picking out about ten items that can be mix-matched and interchanged with each other. I ordered from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Target. One of them happens to be that gorgeous pencil skirt Lauren is wearing in the previous photo! FYI - Ann Taylor and BR had great promos going on. All sale items on AT are currently an additional 40% and BR is having a flash sale - if you spend $200, you get 40%, which saved me over $70!

three //
I started reading Leah Remini's book, Troublemaker, last week after my mom told me about it. It dives into her crazy journey with Scientology and how she finally left the church after being a member since childhood. It has been so interesting...seriously, every nut-so thing I thought about Scientology going into it has been confirmed by her, but then it actually gets worse than I could have imagined. And I'm only three chapters in at this point.

She doesn't sugar coat anything... her no bullsh*t approach shines through and I really am enjoying reading her account of all the tumultuous and unbelievable things she went through.  



four //
I picked up two of these candles at Target the other day, and I am obsessed. They smell amazing and I've been burning both at the same time on the main floor of our house, and they make the entire thing smell like a mix of fall deliciousness...pumpkins, pie, spice, cinnamon, etc etc.

five //
I am seriously intrigued with Khloe Kardashian's new denim line, Good American. I know the prices are scary...but as a girl with curves, I seriously do not have a problem with the price if the jeans fit and are comfortable. They claim to be inspired by curvier body types and they wanted to create jeans that were missing in the current denim market. I noticed that Nordstrom is carrying the line...maybe I'll try out a pair? The boyfriend and cropped ones look cute!


current makeup routine

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

cruelty free makeup

Happy Wednesday lovies!
Hope you are all having a good week...mine seems to be dragging at a snail's pace, but after today we are over the hump, right?!

I wanted to pop on and share some of the new cruelty free makeup items I have picked up over the past month. Some I love, some I won't be repurchasing. For my breakdown and review on each of them, keep reading!


 

// NARS Creamy Concealer - Vanilla
I do actually love this concealer... I can see what all the hype is about. It is a great consistency and super easy to blend (I use a damp Real Techniques sponge). The only thing I dislike is that NARS parent-company is not cruelty free. So, although I love this, I will be looking for a replacement. Any suggestions? What concealers do you love?

// Too Faced Pressed Powder 
I really like this powder to set my makeup. It is translucent and doesn't leave any weird white residue or sheen behind. I don't love that it's $30 and I seem to be going through it rather quickly, but I think the quality is worth it, so I will be repurchasing!

// NARS Sheer Glow Foundation - Deauville
I'm on the fence with this one. It is okay...looks pretty nice and does the job, but there is just something missing for me? It's not quite perfect, and for over $40, a foundation needs to be PERFECT. I think I'll be trying something else when this starts to run out.

// Urban Decay Makeup Setting Spray
I grabbed a travel sized version of this in the checkout line of Sephora, and I'm glad I did! It is really nice and refreshing to spritz on after finishing my makeup application each morning. Not sure if it actually does what it claims, but the cool mist and bit of dewy glow it gives is worth it!

// Too Faced Hangover Primer
I'm really loving this one...it feels really moisturizing and makes my foundation application feel much better and less "cakey". I have dry skin and when the weather gets cooler and people start pumping heat into buildings (I try my hardest not to do it at home)...my skin feels so awful. This primer is going to be so helpful this winter!

// Pacifica Dream Big Mascara
This is such a cool product! You twist the cap and it adjusts the mascara wand - long to add length to your lashes, then compacted to add volume. I really like the formula and I've found it pairs really well with my Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. It is also great for touch ups during the day. My only complaint... on its own it is just not quite black enough. I really like my mascara to be jet black, and this it just a bit light to me. It will be great for those "no makeup"/natural face days though! 

// e.l.f. Baked Eye Shadow Trio
Color me surprised! This was a last minute grab at Target one day because I realized I was running low on highlight eye shadow at home. I thought the light shade in this trio looked nice, so I chucked it into my shopping cart. And boy, am I glad I did! This little $4 product is really nice! I've been using the light shade everyday on my inner corner and brow bone, and have even used the gold and brown a couple days too. 

What makeup items are you ladies using and loving right now?? xx



fall decor // Target

Monday, October 17, 2016

Smith & Hawkens Wreath

I love when the seasons change and I can get some new decorations up around the house! I didn't really have much as far as the transition from summer to fall - but thankfully, Target came to the rescue (doesn't that always seem to be the case?)

It all started with the wreath...then I couldn't stop. 

I decided to do more of a fall-theme so it will last through Thanksgiving, rather than doing Halloween first and then changing it for Thanksgiving.


 
This little acorn and pine cone garland was under $8.00! I strung it across the mantle of our fireplace.



Also on the mantle are two little velvet pumpkins (they are kind of like bean bags). These are adorable, I wish I could have scooped up more, but my Target only had two the day I was shopping. 



 

I also found some wire pumpkins that were really cute, so I scooped one of the small ones up to put with some candles on our built-in bookshelf. If I had more room, I would have probably gotten one of the medium sized ones too (they had 3 sizes available - the smallest is pictured here).



The last thing I put together was our dining table. I picked up a new runner, some napkins, bronze leaf napkin rings and a few more decorative pumpkins (can you sense a theme)? ;)

The napkin rings and pumpkins actually all came from the Dollar Spot and were super affordable!


Runner / Napkins / Place mats


I still would like to get a couple more things. On my list are some yellow mums for the front of the house - maybe hanging baskets for the porch? I'd also like a couple more fall-scented candles to burn around the house...I love when the whole house smells like the holidays! 

What decorations have you used this fall? xx

things that made me happy this week

Friday, October 14, 2016


1 // All the amazing and thoughtful well-wishes from our friends and family after our wedding last week.

2 // This mid-century inspired wall hanging that I think will go perfectly in our living room. 

3 // Looking through pictures from our mini-honeymoon. I think our favorite had to be visiting The Biltmore



4 // The new HBO series, West World. So crazy, but Aaron and I are already hooked. 

5 // Opening wedding gifts from our generous loved ones - look at these adorable mugs!



6 // For once in a long time, there are two movies out in theaters that I really want to go see! The Girl on the Train and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

7 // Fall decor - I went a little buck wild at Target the other day and I'll be sharing all my new home decor items in a post soon!

8 // The Cleveland Indians - how amazing would it be if Cleveland won two championships in one year?!

9 // Although it was really nice to get away for a few days and spend time alone with Aaron in North Carolina, we missed our dogs SO much! It was so exciting to pick them up from the doggie hotel when we got back and they've been getting tons of extra cuddles <3

10 // So many new beauty finds that I will be sharing my thoughts and reviews on in a post soon! xx 



our mountain wedding // october 3

Thursday, October 13, 2016


Hi lovelies!

Sorry I've been MIA for a few weeks, but I think I have a pretty good excuse - our wedding was last week! I was totally immersed in making final plans, getting confirmations, and sorting out our travel...so much so that I didn't find time to post in the days leading up to it. 

We were married on Monday, October 3rd in Hot Springs, North Carolina at Mountain Magnolia Inn. We had about 30 of our closest friends and family there with us, and it was just absolutely magical. The best day of my life...I just keep thinking back and smiling. It went by so quickly, but couldn't have been more perfect.

We don't have all the official pictures yet, but I thought I'd share some sneak peeks and snaps we took with our phones :)








emily kay